On our recent trip to Oregon, we visited the famed Ponzi Vineyards. Forrest bought me the beautiful Ponzi Vineyards Cookbook. Part coffee table book, wine pairing guide, and cookbook, there are so many recipes that I can’t wait to try!

Gougeres are savory versions of puff pastry. They pair perfectly with wine and serve as an excellent passed dish for a party.

Gougeres

Adapted from The Ponzi Vineyards Cookbook

Ingredients

5/8 cup water

4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

Salt, to taste

Fresh chopped herbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

In a saucepan, combine water and butter, bring to boil. Remove saucepan from heat, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth. Return to low heat, continuing to mix until the dough pulls away from the pan, feels soft, and doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Cool slightly and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. The mixture will become smooth, with a texture similar to heavy mayonnaise. Continue beating and cheese, salt, and herbs.

I’ve had a few cans of pumpkin hanging out in the pantry just waiting to be made into something delicious. When searching for a pumpkin bread recipe, I noticed this one used coconut oil and whole wheat pastry flour, both of which were keeping that canned pumpkin company in the pantry. So, I heeded on the side of healthy and chose to follow Katie’s recipe. Overall, this was a very tasty bread. Moist, flavorful, and very slightly sweet. You certainly couldn’t tell it was whole wheat.

Directions1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2-1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45 to 60 minutes).3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans.4. Shape each portion of dough into a loaf by patting or rolling. To shape dough by patting, gently pat and pinch each portion into a loaf shape, tucking edges beneath. To shape dough by rolling, on a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 12×8-inch rectangle. Starting from a short side, roll up into a spiral. Seal with fingertips as you roll.5. Place the shaped dough in the prepared loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30 to 40 minutes).6. Bake in a 375 degree F oven about 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when you tap the top with your fingers. (If necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.) Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves (32 servings).

These biscuits have turned out perfectly every time I have made them. The key is to cut taller biscuits and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to baking them.King Arthur Flour “KAF Guaranteed” Biscuits
Source: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

7 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 ounce cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

8 to 10 ounces heavy cream, enough to make a cohesive dough

1/2 to 1 ounce melted butter

Directions

1) Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in enough heavy cream to moisten the dough thoroughly. You’ll probably use about 1 cup in the summer, 1 1/4 cups in the winter, and 1 cup + 2 tablespoons at the turn of the seasons. You want to be able to gather the dough together, squeeze it, and have it hang together easily, without dry bits falling off.
2) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and very gently pat it into an 8″ circle about 3/4″ thick. If you’re uncertain about your ability to make a nice freeform 8″ round, pat the dough into a lightly floured 8″ round cake pan, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
3) Use a sharp 2 ¼” biscuit cutter to cut rounds. Place them on a lightly greased (or parchment-lined) baking sheet.
4) Brush the biscuits with butter, if desired, for extra flavor.
5) Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. This will improve the biscuits’ texture and rise.
6) Preheat the oven to 425°F while the biscuits are in the freezer.
7) Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes, till they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven. If you have any melted butter left over, brush it on the baked biscuits. Serve immediately.

In a saucepan, heat milk and butter until very warm, but do not boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Place dough a oiled bowl, cover, and set it in a warm, moist place for about 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.